Sustainability Street: CRE Finance's New Paradigm

Commercial Property Executive

Welcome back to Sustainability Street, our podcast on the intersection of commercial real estate and the world we live in. For this episode, my guest is CRE Finance Council Managing Director Saraih Burki, head of regulatory affairs and sustainability for the organization.

Burki and I discuss how CREFC's Sustainability Initiative is helping members make sense of expanding imperatives and opportunities through education, advocacy and transparency.

"As a reputational issue, you want to be seen as as sort of a forward-thinking green type of institution, and honestly a lot of it is very practical," Burki said. "CRE lenders, investors have been focused on sustainability even before ESG."

Here are some highlights from our conversation:

• A personal and corporate journey (1:28)
• CREF's Sustainability Initiative (7:00)
• The challenge of insurance (11:00)
• Regulatory uncertainty (14:45)
• ESG under fire (22:18)
• The U.S. leaps forward (23:30)

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